Martin Scorsese's 85 Films you need to see to know anything about film

06 March 2012

I love films and really enjoyed reading Michael Scorcese's list of the "85 films you need to see to know anything about film". Sadly it seems I know little about film as there are a great many on the list I haven't seen but I like lists like this as it's introduced me to some that I'll definitely get. My favourite film (if I had to pick one) of all time, "A Matter of Life & Death" is on the list which I'm glad to see. I'm a big fan of the films of Powell & Pressburger. I thought it was interesting to read what Scorsese said about the reaction of the public to Powells admittedly creepy but excellent film Peeping Tom:

Peeping Tom: “Michael Powell himself gambled everything on Peeping Tom and lost in such a way that his career was really ended. The film was so shocking to some British critics and the audience because he had some sympathy, sort of, for the the serial killer. And the killer had the audacity to photograph the killing of the women with a motion picture camera, which of course tied in the motion picture camera as an object of voyeurism, implicating all of us watching horror films. He was reviled. One critic said this should be flushed down the toilet. He only got one or two more movies done. He really disappeared. And now in England there are cameras watching everyone all over the street.” 1960